We have received text from H.R. 7478: Patient Debt Relief Act. This bill was received on 2026-02-10, and currently has 17 cosponsors.
Here is a short summary of the bill:
This bill, known as the Patient Debt Relief Act, aims to create new standards and requirements regarding financial assistance and medical debt collection for hospitals participating in the Medicare program, as well as to establish a grant program focused on medical debt relief.
Key Provisions of the Bill
1. Financial Assistance and Debt Collection Requirements
Beginning January 1, 2028, hospitals must comply with specific financial assistance and medical debt collection requirements to participate in the Medicare program. These requirements include:
- Establishing a charity care or financial assistance policy that is publicly available.
- Setting minimum eligibility standards for financial assistance.
- Providing a screening process to help patients determine if they qualify for assistance.
2. Medical Debt Collection Limitations
The bill restricts how hospitals can collect medical debts from patients. Specifically, hospitals are prohibited from:
- Placing a lien on or foreclosing on a patient's home to collect medical debt.
- Garnishing wages to collect medical debt.
- Selling or assigning medical debt to a debt collector unless at least one year has passed since the payment was due.
Additionally, if a hospital determines that a patient's household income is below a certain threshold (250% of the poverty level), it cannot charge annual interest on the debt or sell it to a debt collector.
3. Civil Monetary Penalties
If hospitals do not comply with these financial assistance and debt collection rules, they may face civil monetary penalties up to $1,000,000 for each noncompliance instance.
4. Monitoring Compliance
The Secretary of Health and Human Services is responsible for auditing hospitals to check compliance, starting January 1, 2029. There will also be an online portal for patients to report noncompliance.
5. Medical Debt Relief Program
The bill establishes a grant program under the Public Health Service Act to help nonprofit organizations acquire and discharge medical debts for eligible individuals. Key features of the grant program include:
- Eligible nonprofits can apply for funds to help individuals with medical debt.
- Funds must be used to identify eligible individuals and pay off their medical debts.
- Organizations must notify individuals when their debts are discharged and report on their activities regularly.
6. Definitions and Funding
The bill defines "eligible individuals" as those with medical debts that are high relative to their income or who have low household incomes. An initial funding of $100,000,000 is authorized for the grant program for fiscal year 2027, which will be available until exhausted.
Relevant Companies
None found
Representative Gabe Vasquez Bill Proposals
Here are some bills which have recently been proposed by Representative Gabe Vasquez:
- H.R.7478: To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to establish certain standards and requirements with respect to financial assistance and medical debt collection for hospitals participating in the Medicare program, and to amend title III of the Public Health Service Act to establish a grant program for purposes of medical debt relief.
- H.R.7383: Feed Our Veterans Act
- H.R.7080: Waste Heat to Wattage Act of 2026
- H.R.6605: Secure Our Skies Drone Safety Act of 2025
- H.R.5098: Strengthening Our Workforce Act of 2025
- H.R.4969: Keep Mobile Homes Affordable Act
You can track bills proposed by Representative Gabe Vasquez on Quiver Quantitative's politician page for Vasquez.
Representative Gabe Vasquez Net Worth
Quiver Quantitative estimates that Representative Gabe Vasquez is worth $24.0K, as of February 23rd, 2026. This is the 479th highest net worth in Congress, per our live estimates.
Vasquez has approximately $0 invested in publicly traded assets which Quiver is able to track live.
You can track Representative Gabe Vasquez's net worth on Quiver Quantitative's politician page for Vasquez.
2026 New Mexico's 2nd Congressional District Election
There has been approximately $40,379,719 of spending in New Mexico's 2nd congressional district elections over the last two years, per our estimates.
Approximately $29,340,533 of this has been from outside spending by PACs and Super PACs. Some of the groups who are spending money in this race include:
- DCCC ($6,491,718)
- HMP ($6,461,040)
- CONGRESSIONAL LEADERSHIP FUND ($3,929,705)
- NRCC ($3,809,298)
- CHC BOLD PAC ($1,195,900)
The rating for this race is currently "Lean D".
You can track this election on our matchup page for the 2026 New Mexico's 2nd congressional district election.
This article is not financial advice. See Quiver Quantitative's disclaimers for more information.
